CH 389

“That’s the guide!”

“Uwah… So that’s him!”

“He’s so hot!”

“How tall is he?!”

The students exclaimed in excitement.

The crest embroidered on his uniform indicated that he worked for Eden. The guide smiled as he approached his group while Kronos stared at him silently.

‘This man…’ Kronos’ eyes hardened.

Suddenly, the guide stopped, and their eyes met. The two men stared at each other breathlessly as the world seemingly stopped moving.

The guide quickly looked away. Walking toward the group, he greeted, “Nice to meet you all.”

He bowed and introduced himself, “I’m your guide. My name is…”

“You’re Guide Kim Gil-Gyu!” shouted a student.

“Kim Gil-Gyu?” Kronos murmured with an odd look.

One of the young students, also excited to see the guide, nudged Kronos and replied, “Don’t you know him? He’s really famous. He’s Guide Kim Gil-Gyu, the beautiful yet mysterious man!”

“Kim Gil-Gyu… Kim Gil-Gyu…” Kronos whispered to himself. Was he mistaken? He believed the time and their breathing had stopped moving when their eyes met. Was he hallucinating?

‘But his name and his face are similar to…’

The height, the looks, and even the guide's aura were similar to that guy.

‘He’s just like Kim Gi-Gyu.’

But Kronos’ instinct was telling him that this wasn’t Kim Gi-Gyu.

‘The problem is that I can’t read him at all.’ Because he was so weak now, he could not read anyone’s energy clearly. Kronos could try harder by releasing his energy, but that could offend the guide.

‘But it’s obvious he’s hiding something.’ 

Kronos watched Kim Gil-Gyu chatting with the group. The guide was definitely hiding his power. What Kronos could sense on the outside was utterly different from what Kim Gil-Gyu had inside.

There was something very strange about Kim Gil-Gyu. It was so subtle that even a high-level player would find it hard to recognize, but Kronos could sense it. He may have lost most of his power, but this didn’t mean he had lost all of his experiences and techniques.

“Nice to meet you.” Kim Gil-Gyu approached Kronos and offered his hand. Their eyes met again, but Kronos didn’t feel the odd atmosphere again.

“My name is Ha Song-Su,” Kronos introduced himself smoothly to see how Kim Gil-Gyu would react.

Kronos and Kim Gil-Gyu stared at each other and thought the same thing.

‘This guy knows something.’ 

***

“The monsters are aggregates of malice. Presently, different species live together, so this is the only difference between us and the monsters,” the guide explained as the tour began.

Kim Gil-Gyu looked at each student as he continued, “We must climb the Tower to defeat the malice on the higher floors. We need to purify the world and become stronger players. By becoming powerful players, we can prepare for the unexpected.”

‘Malice…’ Kronos thought as he listened. This Tower Kim Gil-Gyu talked about differed from the Tower Kronos had built in the past.

‘So I guess that’s what happened.’ The lesson had just started, but Kronos had already gotten answers to many of his questions. ‘I guess a lot has changed, but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.’ 

“Mr. Ha Song-Su?” Kim Gil-Gyu called out to him. “You were listening, weren’t you?”

When Kim Gil-Gyu asked knowingly, Kronos nodded.

“Then could you answer the question I asked a moment ago?” asked Kim Gil-Gyu.

“...”

“So I guess you weren’t listening.” Kim Gil-Gyu shrugged. “I asked about everyone’s abilities. I also need to know yours to decide how to direct you.”

“My ability?”

“Yes.”

“...” Kronos didn’t know how to respond.

‘My ability…’ 

What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to explain?

‘This is obviously a trick question to learn more about me.’ Kronos hesitated, wondering what this guide wanted from him.

Meanwhile, the other students watched awkwardly. The atmosphere was getting awkward, but then Kim Gil-Gyu smiled and announced, “I guess you don’t want to tell me. Well, many players keep that a secret.”

Their eyes met again, and as tensions rose again, a student raised his hand. “Mr. Guide, I have a question!”

Kronos was relieved. ‘That was close.’ 

Meanwhile, Kim Gil-Gyu decided, ‘I’m sure he’s hiding something.’

***

“This is a goblin. You have all studied their attack pattern, haven’t you?” Kim Gil-Gyu asked the group. He had started guiding from the outer edges of the first floor. The first monster they needed to defeat were goblins.

“If the situation gets dangerous, I’ll help. So please don’t worry and just go for it,” Kim Gil-Gyu announced and stepped back. Most of the students became tense, but several yawned and stayed relaxed.

‘They must’ve gone through pre-training,’ Kim Gil-Gyu thought. Players from guilds or player families usually trained in advance, even before the tutorial course. And after killing their first monster, players rarely became nervous before a battle.

However, Kim Gil-Gyu wasn’t monitoring these players. He was more interested in the man who called himself Ha Song-Su.

‘What is he going to do?’ Kim Gil-Gyu had sensed the power inside this man. Ha Song-Su was definitely not a newbie. ‘Just his potential alone makes him someone beyond a ranker.’ 

Kim Gil-Gyu couldn’t even detect Ha Song-Su’s power source, and there was something strange about his energy.

‘And for some reason, I feel an odd longing and resentment toward him.’ Kim Gil-Gyu couldn’t tell why. After separating from Gi-Gyu, he had decided to live his own life. He had experienced many new things, but feeling what he was feeling was new.

‘And… why do I fear that man?’ When their eyes first met, goosebumps had covered both of his arms. He wasn’t afraid of Ha Song-Su’s power. He was fearful of this strange emotion he couldn’t explain.

The players began fighting the goblins.

“Hup!” The newbies wielded their weapons awkwardly.

‘But I don’t think I have to help them.’ Kim Gil-Gyu decided. The goblins were weak, easy-to-kill monsters.

‘And those advanced students are doing excellent.’ Pre-trained players were already busy collecting the crystals that dropped after a monster’s death.

“...!” Just then, Kim Gil-Gyu’s eyes widened in shock. He darted to decapitate the goblin rushing toward Kronos.

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Kronos and Kim Gil-Gyu were now covered with goblin blood. Turning toward Kronos, Kim Gil-Gyu asked angrily, “What were you doing just now? The goblin was coming for you, so why didn’t you do anything?”

The goblin’s rusty spear had been inches away from Kronos’ neck, but he still hadn’t moved. It was as if he wanted to die. The beginner players stared in shock, which was dangerous since there were other goblins around them, but the experienced players took care of them quickly.

“Because of you, the other players might have gotten hurt, Mr. Ha Song-Su. If you aren’t ready to kill the monsters, you must leave now,” Kim Gil-Gyu ordered.

Kronos finally opened his lips. “I… already took care of it.”

“...?” Kronos’ answer was unexpected, but Kim Gil-Gyu immediately realized what he meant.

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One of the students yelled, “Mr. Guide! This goblin has a hole in its gut.”

“...” Kim Gil-Gyu turned around to look at the goblin he had just decapitated. The goblin had looked perfectly fine when he had decapitated it, but only now did he notice the large wound on its stomach.

“But how…?” Kim Gil-Gyu whispered. He had asked Gi-Gyu to seal away much of his power, but it still didn’t make sense that he had failed to detect Ha Song-Su’s attack. When he looked at Ha Song-Su, there was only a blank look on his face.

“Let’s get organized. We’ll take a short break,” Kim Gil-Gyu announced, deciding he shouldn’t question Ha Song-Su in front of everyone.

Now standing far away, Kim Gil-Gyu watched Ha Song-Su uncomfortably. Meanwhile, Kronos himself was feeling confused.

‘Did my time-controlling power return?’ He had seemingly used his old power unconsciously. ‘But this is impossible.’

Kronos couldn’t understand. He could control time, but to do this, he needed the Scythe of Time. Before he died, he had given it to Gi-Gyu, so he shouldn’t be able to use his ability.

“What is he planning?” Kronos wondered out loud, sure Gi-Gyu was somehow involved. Many thoughts crossed Kronos’ mind.

“Mr. Ha Song-Su.” Kim Gil-Gyu suddenly approached him. “Let’s talk.”

Kim Gil-Gyu took Kronos away from the group. They stared at each other again; this time, Kronos sensed something very different from Kim Gil-Gyu.

“Bloodthirst…” Kim Gil-Gyu was being openly hostile to him. Kronos’ face remained blank, but his body began trembling a little.

“You…” Kim Gil-Gyu emanated even more vicious energy as he asked, “Who are you? Just now, what you did…”

Kim Gil-Gyu looked straight into Kronos’ eyes. The power he held in his hand was enough to separate Kronos from his life.

“How did you use that power?” asked Kim Gil-Gyu. His manner of speaking and aura was utterly different now.

Kronos asked, “Are you showing your true self now?”